Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 145634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
“Apologize,” I scream in his face. I clench my jaw so tight, I think my teeth crack. I’m so on edge.
“Derek.” I can faintly hear Emma’s small voice, laced with fear. My grip loosens for a moment, my heart skipping a beat. Shame momentarily cripples me.
“I’m sorry,” the man in my grasp says to the waitress on my left.
“I’m alright.” I hear the waitress's voice. She’s talking to the maître d', who’s consoling her a bit to my left and behind me. Not this prick.
I know her. I forget her name, but I know her story. She’s a friend of the Marianis. She lost her husband recently, and is just trying to get by. She’s new, and she fucked up. But she didn’t deserve that. And this asshole being so comfortable doing this in public means he’s done it before.
I’m gonna make sure he never does it again.
“Derek,” Emma calls out a little louder, desperation clearly there. I see her walk closer to us in my periphery. I hesitate. She shouldn’t see this shit.
“Stay there, Emma,” I tell her sharply. I swallow thickly, wishing I could just take this shit out on him. He deserves it.
“I’m sorry, just-” The guy says; he’s shaking so hard I swear he’s gonna piss himself. Just the sound of his voice pisses me off.
“Derek, stop!” Emma calls out again, taking a step forward and reaching out for my arm.
My anger wanes as my concern for her getting in the middle of us grows, but it’s still there, raging inside of me.
“Get the fuck out,” I say beneath my breath and start to shove him away, back against the wall. But it’s not enough. I haul his ass out of the restaurant, not letting go of the grip I have on his shirt. I’m walking so fast he struggles to keep up.
As soon as we’re outside, I shove him forward. The cold bitter air chilling my heated skin. He slips on the thin sheet of snow, landing hard onto his knees, the palms of his hands bracing his fall and a small splatter of blood hitting the pure white sidewalk.
I get a strong urge to kick the fucker right in his ribs. I want him to hurt. I want him to feel this for a long fucking time, but Emma runs out like a fucking madwoman, right in front of me. She's wearing her coat and has her wristlet in hand, with my coat draped over one arm.
I grit my teeth and grab hold of her waist to pull her behind me.
“Stop!” she screams at me.
What’s she doing? She should know better.
The sounds of the people coming out of the restaurant and stirring around me barely grab my attention as the man hobbles forward and turns on his side to stand up. I give him a look that should fucking kill, and he freezes on the sidewalk.
“Please Derek, let’s go. Just stop.” Emma sounds so hurt as she pulls on my arm. “Please,” she says and her soft voice grabs my full attention as she tugs at me again, pulling my shirt tighter across my chest. “Let’s go.”
Her beautiful doe eyes look up at me. My heart slows. It’s only then I realize how heavy I’m breathing. How cold it is.
The man on the ground coughs and scoots farther away. I spare him a quick look, but nothing more.
“Let’s go,” Emma pleads as she tugs on my arm again, and this time I go to her, shrugging on my coat easily. I wrap my arm around her waist and walk us toward my car. Emma looks over her shoulder a few times, but I don’t. My pace is fast. I just want to get the fuck out of here.
Mariani’s will be fine. The other owners have done worse. She doesn’t need to know that though.
She tries to open the passenger door, but I push her against it instead. Her back hits the car door and she gasps as I press my body against hers.
I just wanna feel her. I need to.
“Derek,” she whimpers, moving her neck to give me more access as I lean against her. Kissing her exposed skin, I push my knee between her legs. Fuck, I want her so bad. My dick starts hardening at the thought of taking her right here, right now. I’m so worked up. And I’ve wanted her for days. Fuck that. Years.
My heavy breath turns to fog as I leave open-mouth kisses along her neck.
“Derek,” she says again in little more than a whisper, pushing me away slightly.
I don’t expect her to push me away, since she was leaning into me at first. But she looks over her shoulder at the entrance to the Bistro and then back at me, that vulnerability in her eyes again.
I pull away and open the door for her without another word. Waiting for her to climb in, I can hardly look her in the eyes, before I shut it gently and readjust my cock in my jeans.